Cross River signature projects are loan free, says Ndem

Contrary to insinuations, Cross River State signature projects will be built by foreign investors without any loan facility. Some persons have expressed fears that the projects will put the state in debt for over 100 years leaving liabilities for children unborn.

Speaking with some newsmen in Calabar, the Special Repertoire on Bakassi Militancy to the State Government, Bassey Ndem said with the signature and quick-win projects Governor Ben Ayade has commenced an industrial revolution in Cross River state. “The superhighway will cost a billion dollars to build. The allocation the state receives from federal government and state internally generated revenue (IGR) cannot build it. It has to be financed by other people’s money and foreign direct investment. If the investors carry out their due diligence and are satisfied with the study done and believe that from traffic and other things they are going to get their one billion dollar back including interest, what is your problem?’

On insinuations that the projects will leave behind huge debts for Cross River, he said, “there is the Debt Management Office (DMO) that very closely monitors and regulates issues on state government debts. This government cannot borrow recklessly from commercial banks so these projects are not tied to unpayable loans.”He said the government is doing the right thing by carefully selecting the right value added industries and taking the plunge by building them.